AFC Championship: Why Aaron Hernandez Is Key to New England Victory

Rob Gronkowski isn't the only New England Patriots receiver who needs to step up in a big fashion against the stingy Baltimore Ravens defense. Aaron Hernandez, the Patriots' other young stud who plays tight end, will need to continue his hot streak if the Patriots want to win.

Hernandez has been white hot lately. 

In the last four games, he has three touchdowns, 358 receiving yards and 24 catches. Although none of those numbers were against an elite defense like the Ravens, Hernandez has a quarterback named Tom Brady who's going to be slinging passes to him throughout the game.

Because of that, Hernandez should be fine in terms of production, especially since the Ravens may be putting much of their focus on Gronkowski.

Hernandez also had a great game against the Ravens in the 2010 regular season, catching four balls for 61 yards.

That being said, Hernandez shouldn't just be focused on catching balls. Bill Belichick needs to unleash him as a runner throughout the game.

Hernandez rushed for 61 yards in the Patriots' divisional-round victory over the Denver Broncos. Throughout his regular-season career, he's had eight carries for 92 yards. Hernandez received more carries last week against Denver than half of his career's totals. 

Having Hernandez run the ball once in a while is like a sneak attack for the Patriots that they can use to open up Brady's passing. The more Hernandez runs and succeeds, the easier it'll be for Brady to pass. Brady's been having plenty of success this year, and that's without any sort of running game. 

Just imagine how much more dangerous he'll become if Hernandez shows effectiveness while running the ball. The scary part for the Ravens is that Hernandez is averaging 11.5 yards per carry. Even though he's averaged that number in eight regular-season carries, it's just a sign that the Pats should continue to run the ball with Hernandez. 

The fact that they implemented him in the running game five times last Saturday shows that they're more willing to use him. 

This just opens up another threat offensively for the Patriots. They're already dangerous enough to begin with, but now the Ravens will have to keep an eye out for a sneak attack gut-punching run by Aaron Hernandez.

In fact, in last year's game against the Ravens, Hernandez had his second career rushing attempt, and it was an 18-yard gain. 

Having Hernandez run on third down would also be a stunning scene. Imagine a 3rd-and-7 situation and everybody is expecting Brady to pass but all of a sudden he hands it off to Hernandez, who easily gains 14 yards because of a defense that was expecting the pass.

This isn't to say that Hernandez should receive 20 carries a game. Utilizing Hernandez can be an extremely effective tool for the Patriots if handled properly and minimally in the right situations. Perhaps giving him five-to-eight carries on Sunday should be enough to confuse the Ravens and help open up the pass to a greater extent.

All of this being said, Bill Belichick is the genius at work there. We're all pretty sure he's thought of this already, and it wouldn't be a surprise at all if he uses it, especially if he thinks it'll provide a positive impact for the team.